


I Can Fix That

by dontkissthemonkeys



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Minor Injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-01
Updated: 2015-03-01
Packaged: 2018-03-15 19:30:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3459131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dontkissthemonkeys/pseuds/dontkissthemonkeys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When he was finally upright once more, Babe lifted a hand to gently probe at his nose for a second before Gene gently batted his hand away. He hissed when Gene’s fingers pressed against it and his voice was more whiney than he’d intended when he spoke. “Ow, fuck that hurts, shit.”</p>
<p>“Don’t worry,” Gene said quietly, “I can fix that.” Babe didn’t even think about questioning the bold statement, because Gene always seemed to give off an air of confidence and now was no different.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Can Fix That

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on the men as they are portrayed by actors in the HBO mini series, not the real men. No offense intended.

When Babe Heffron met up with his friends for the day’s outdoor, intramural basketball game, he did not intend to get injured in any fashion. Yet, before the game was even halfway over, he found himself flat on his back, head ringing, as blood gushed from his nose. And possibly his lip. Maybe even his cheek. Babe wasn’t really sure how he’d ended up in this position—he just remembered lots of hands being involved--and all he could focus on was the gross metallic taste of blood at the back of his throat and the scuff of feet as people huddled around him. He also heard Bill shouting something but couldn’t make out the words.

Blinking slowly, Babe opened his eyes when sneakers began scuffing on black top once more. The parting of the friend sea allowed the bright sunlight to find him and pierce through him like a million tiny dragons screeching in his suddenly throbbing head. Whimpering, he closed his eyes again and turned his head away.

“Heffron?”

Babe frowned when he heard the melodic, accented voice murmur his name as someone filled the gap and blocked out the sun once more. The voice was familiar, one he was used to hearing quietly but confidently speaking in the overbearingly warm classrooms in the academic buildings. “Gene?” he croaked, slowly cracking his eyes open and looking directly into the dark eyes of Eugene Roe. “What are you doing here?”

“Never could pass up the opportunity to play hero,” he quipped, smiling slightly, and Babe found himself laughing in response. He ignored the blood that fell into his mouth and instead continued watching Gene’s face as he turned away to dig inside his backpack. When he faced Babe once more, the smile was still in place. “I stopped to watch the game for a few minutes before heading to work at the clinic. Just in time to see you fall on your ass and not get back up.”

Inexplicably, Babe’s cheeks heated and he felt the urge to glance away, but Gene’s eyes held him in place. “Yeah, well, maybe I like the view from now here better.”

Gene simply smirked and placed a hand on Babe’s shoulder. “Think you can sit up?”

Grunting in response, Babe shifted to push himself up when someone else grabbed his other side and helped him move. He didn’t need to look to know he would find Lipton there, looking more concerned than Babe’s own mother would have been.

When he was finally upright once more, Babe lifted a hand to gently probe at his nose for a second before Gene gently batted his hand away. He hissed when Gene’s fingers pressed against it and his voice was more whiney than he’d intended when he spoke. “Ow, fuck that hurts, shit.”

“Don’t worry,” Gene said quietly, “I can fix that.” Babe didn’t even think about questioning the bold statement, because Gene always seemed to give off an air of confidence and now was no different. His eyes followed the movement of Gene’s hands as he reached for the bits off cotton he’d retrieved and began taking care of the mild injury. “Your nose doesn’t appear to be broken, but you should probably make a visit to the clinic to be sure. In any case, it’s going to hurt for a few days at least.”

“Okay,” Babe whispered, doing his best not to move though it was a struggle. He’d already been still for too long and Gene’s hands were gentle and comforting and Babe was having all sorts of inappropriate thoughts about where else he’d like those hands to be.

Once he finished with Babe’s nose, Gene quickly applied cream to the small cut on his face and placed a bright green bandage over it. Throwing the tube and wrappers back into his bag, Gene stood and extended a hand to Babe, helping him to his feet while Lip hovered at a safe distance, waiting to step in if necessary. “There we go,” Gene said happily, “good as new.” He lifted his bag and slung it over his shoulder, turning on his heel and walking away. “Don’t forget to get your nose checked. And be careful, Heffron.”

As Babe watched Gene walk away, the sound of his last name hovering in the growing space between them, he resolved to find a way to get Gene to call him _Babe_.

\------

He’d just finished the last final exam he needed to take before leaving for the Christmas break and was actually feeling really good about how he did. In an effort to treat himself, he was heading towards one of the more expensive eateries on campus when he heard his name being shouted.

“ _Babe!_ ”

Glancing up, Babe’s eyes almost immediately landed on Renee as she pushed through the crowd of students and hurried towards him. Her blonde hair whipped in the wind, momentarily obscuring her face before revealing her once more. He’d stopped so she could catch up to him, and when she did, he could see her flushed cheeks and the way her chest rose and fell with each heavy breath.

Draping an arm across her shoulders, Babe dropped a quick kiss to the top of her head and herded her along to his previous destination. “Renee, babe, you are a sight for sore eyes. What can I do for you on this fine day?”

“Well aren’t we pleased,” she laughed, smacking his stomach. “Did you do well on your exam, then?” He grinned down and her and nodded. “Excellent!”

“Wanna join me for some celebratory food?”

“No. Well, yes, but no. I mean, I want to but I can’t; I must head off to meet my presentation group. But,” she said, placing a hand on his chest and stopping him in place once more. “You must go talk to Gene. He will not listen to me and I don’t know if he has even eaten in the last week and I think he is merely existing on Red Bull and Starbucks and he’s been listening to the same song on repeat for at least four days and I think he might be about to fall over from sleep deprivation and I don’t know if he has even _showered_ and I am very concerned and—“

“Okay, okay,” Babe said, cutting off her slightly frantic rambling.

She dragged in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Please go see him before you eat, maybe you can convince him to join you. You’re like the only one he will listen to these days.”

A thread of warmth slithered through Babe when he heard those words, and he smiled as he thought of how close he and Gene has become in the months since the basketball incident. After that day, they had started spending more time together--inside and outside of class, on campus and off—and Gene had very rapidly become one of Babe’s most valued friends.

“Alright, I’ll head there now. Good luck with your presentation.”

They parted ways shortly after that and Babe changed directions, instead returning back to the dormitory they lived in. Stopping off at the second floor, he deposited his things in his room, saying a cursory hello to Julian before darting out the door again. He took the stairs to the fourth floor two at a time and hurried down the hall to Gene’s room, knocking on the door. There was no answer, but Babe could hear the quiet sounds of music through the door, and when he tried the doorknob, he found it unlocked.

Pushing inside, he looked around the room and found Gene hunched over the table, books and paper spread everywhere. The carcasses of empty energy drinks and other caffeinated beverages filled the nearby garbage can and overflowed to the point of alarm. There didn’t appear to be any kind of food paraphernalia in the mix and as he moved closer, Babe began to smell why Renee thought Gene hadn’t been showering. The man was clearly a mess over his upcoming anatomy exam, the only one he had during the whole of finals week, and Babe felt like a terrible friend for not noticing before. While it was true that he’d been caught up studying for his own exams, he still thought he should have checked in on Gene by more than just texting every now and then. With a sigh, Babe approached Gene and cautiously placed a hand on his shoulder, not wanting to surprise the man.

Gene’s head jerked and when he looked up at Babe, he blinked owlishly and yawned so hard that his jaw cracked loud enough to echo around the room. “Edward? What are you doing here?”

Babe bit back his instinctive response-- _Gene, only the goddamn nuns called me Edward. Not even my Ma calls me that!_ —and instead replied to the question. “Ran into Renee and she asked me to check up on you.” He pulled out the nearby chair and sat, pulling the textbooks away. “Gene, when’s the last time you ate?”

“I don’t…” Gene glanced around the room, as if seeing it for the first time, and shook his head. “I don’t know, I don’t remember.” Before the last syllable was out of his mouth, his stomach rumbled loud enough to make Babe concerned that an alien might be about to explode out of it any second now. “Fuck, I’m starving.”

“Don’t worry,” Babe grinned, “I can fix that.” Gene laughed at that, the saying that had become a _thing_ for them ever since that first time. “Let’s go get something to eat.

Slowly unfolding his body from the table and chair, Gene rose to his feet and walked away, petting Babe hair as he did so. “Okay but you’re paying.”

Babe shivered at the touch and snorted quietly, calling out, “But take a shower first, because you smell like shit!”

\------

Christmas break came and went. Both too quickly and too slowly for Babe’s taste.

While he was home, he’d hooked up with his ex-girlfriend Doris a few times when they’d both been drunk and missing other people.

On Christmas day, he’d sent Gene an outrageous amount of Snapchats, all containing some combination of himself, Bill, and Joe. Except for the one he’d sent of just himself, containing the message _missing me yet?_ Babe hadn’t been expecting a reply, but Gene’s joking _prob abt as much as ur missing me_ caused his heart to clench. If only Gene _was_ missing him that same amount.

On New Year’s Eve, he left Gene a message saying he was looking forward to seeing him again soon and that he hoped Gene had someone good to kiss for ringing in the new year. Babe didn’t kiss anyone and he regretted the message the next morning.

Whenever anything went wrong, he always heard Gene’s soft, accented voice saying _I can fix that_ , and he always wished Gene was there to try.

\------

On St. Patrick’s Day, they went to a party that a friend of a friend of a friend of Bill’s was throwing. They only knew some of the people, but the food and alcohol were free and neither of them had anything better to do. And it was only about a five minute walk from campus, so they could easily return to the dorms if they wanted to.

The party was in full swing not long after they got there, and they were separated momentarily when Babe went to retrieve some drinks for them. When he returned, it was to find Gene in the same spot but…not alone. Babe froze mid-step when the man Gene was talking with leaned closer to speak in Gene’s ear, placing a hand on his arm. Gene didn’t shake him off. Swallowing hard, Babe closed the distance and handed Gene his drink before moving away again, ignoring the confused frown Gene gave him.

They didn’t see each other much for the rest of the night, but it seemed like almost every time he laid eyes on Gene, Babe found him talking to the guy from earlier. Babe wanted to be happy that Gene had apparently met someone he liked, but he couldn’t shake the jealousy over that guy not being _him_. So, he drank.

Eventually, he stumbled into an empty bathroom and sank to the floor beside the toilet. He felt like he was going to be sick, but he wasn’t sure if that was because he’d had more to drink than eat or because the last thing he’d seen was the guy clearly moving in to try and kiss Gene. Whimpering, he slowly slid until his heated skin pressed against the cool tile of the bathroom floor.

He didn’t know how long he laid there before he heard footsteps, and then Gene was squatting beside him, his accent thick from concern as he said Babe’s name. “Are you alright?”

“I don’t feel so good,” he groaned.

“I can fix that,” Gene whispered, worry still clear in his voice. He helped Babe to his feet and then to sit on the toilet lid, and then he dug around until he found a cup. Filling it with water, he handed it to Babe. “Drink this and then we’re getting out of here.”

“Wouldn’t you rather leave with your new friend?” Babe muttered as he lifted the cup to his mouth, regretting it instantly when he saw hurt streak across Gene’s face.

Gene didn’t respond, though, merely watching him drink the water and helping him up when he was finished. Wrapping an arm around Babe’s waist, Gene moved Babe’s arm to drape across his shoulders and guided him towards the nearest exit and in the general direction of campus. The walk was quiet and took about fifteen minutes since they had to stop several times when Babe thought he might be about to throw up.

By the time they made it to Babe’s dorm, he was regretting several of the decisions he’d made that night, especially the one to go out in the first place. He’d probably regret it even more in the morning.

They stumbled across the threshold together and Gene pulled Babe in the direction of his bed, managing to reach it just before Babe gave up on walking and completely collapsed. His face fell right into his pillow, and with some careful maneuvering, they managed to get his body into a comfortable position. The mattress dipped when Gene sat beside him, skimming a hand through Babe’s hair a couple of times, and Babe turned his head so he could look at Gene. And his words weren’t muffled when he finally expressed what he’d been feeling for months.

“Gene. _Gene_ , you’re so…you’re so _great_. Do you know how great? Really, really great. You’re the greatest. You’re the nicest and most loving and caring and funny and intelligent person I’ve ever met. _Fuck_ , you’re so intelligent. And that’s just… _really hot_ , you know? And you don’t think I’m dumb if I don’t get something right away and actually try to explain. You make me feel good about myself, you make me feel smart and confident and…I don’t know, _powerful_. I feel like I could take on the world when I’m with you. I just…I love you. I’m in love with you and have been for a while and I don’t know what to fucking do about it because you probably don’t feel the same fucking way and I’m probably embarrassing myself right now, but I just… _I really fucking love you_. It _sucks_. And it _hurts_.”

“Babe…” Gene whispered, and for the first time, it sounded like an endearment, not his name. Lying beside him on the bed, Gene manhandled Babe until he was lying on his side, and pressing flush against Babe’s body, he spoke again. “I can fix that, too.”

Then, Gene closed the short distance and pressed his lips to Babe’s.


End file.
